With Aston Villa signing more of the “young and hungry,” there has been talk about the risk of signing even more young players. In a sense, playing any player is a risk. When a player is on the team sheet the manager is gambling that the player will perform on that given day. Experienced, proven players with a track record are only consistent until they are no longer consistent. When Villa splashed the cash for Darren Bent, his durability was one of the reasons that the club was willing to pay such a large fee. Since then, in addition to losing his place, he has also struggled with fitness as well.
A couple of years ago, Bolton went down due in large part to their inability to transition away from their aging stalwarts. Wolves thought be keeping their experienced core together that they could bounce straight back into the Premier League. Instead, their next Midlands Derby in the league will be against Walsall.
At least by taking a chance on young players there is a chance that they will improve. All too often, experienced players are lucky to even maintain their level of performance. Being older, they are that much closer to their inevitable decline.
By bringing in so many youngsters, the club is taking a shotgun approach; if one player doesn’t work out, there is another option. If Joe Bennett is still struggling next year, the manager will have other players available that he trusts. The same applies to Ciaran Clark, and for every other position on the pitch.
At Norwich, Paul Lambert earned a reputation as a tinkerer. Toward the end of last season, Lambert basically rode the players he trusted and played the same system. Part of the reason is that the team was built to get the most out of Christian Benteke, but the manager was also likely reticent to change much after finally stumbling upon a system that worked.
If one or two of these signings become “The Next Christian Benteke” – or, perhaps more realistically, Matthew Lowton, this will have been a successful summer. If any of these new signings aren’t good enough, their relatively modest wages should make them easier to move than most of the club’s other recent flops.
In all honesty, I don’t follow the game on the continent as closely as I have in years past. I don’t know enough about any of these guys to have a strong opinion. I think the manager has addressed the positions I would have addressed if I was the manager. Only time will tell if these new kids can play or not. We do have a manager who is not afraid to find out.
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